1. leeds 2.0
rebooting the city’s web & tech scene {2007-2010}
Monday, 8 March 2010
2. hello :)
emerging technologies think-tank: UK+NZ+US
previously scouting silicon valley & boston/MIT
orange design+
o’reilly etel 2006+2007
eComm 2008, 2009 & eComm europe
rebuilding leeds’ tech culture after the crash
Monday, 8 March 2010
3. opencoffee
june 2007; emailed everyone we knew with a time & place (*bux, albion st!)
who’s interesting & what’re they working on?
openness & diversity = surfaces serendipity
entrepreneurs + investors + designers + developers + geeks + bloggers
alcohol vs. caffeine? morning vs evening?
eventbrite, twitter, facebook, blogs
34 editions, around 1000 attendees...
Monday, 8 March 2010
4. bring together opencoffee, geekup
leeds’ first unconference
attendees create the programme
free. open. participatory. democratic
weekend of talks, games, parties, food, entertainment
120-150 attendees; 30-40 sessions
Monday, 8 March 2010
6. barcamp leeds
costs necessitated sponsors...
apple, adobe, sun, rockstar, yahoo!, microsoft, orange
gift bags, prizes, live links
executed in just 28 days!
ticketing tells you a lot about human psychology...
Monday, 8 March 2010
7. random, opportunistic...
8 events, 2 weeks
showing off leeds’ contributions to web culture
fred wilson (twitter, 4square) scheduled against beijing’08!
2 core events; 6 fringe events
Monday, 8 March 2010
8. needed to address low female turnout
somewhat controversial...
men allowed as ‘dates’ only :)
great food, chic locations (the loft, city inn, living room)
showcase 2x exceptional women
6 editions; 12 speakers, driving up attendance elsewhere
Monday, 8 March 2010
9. january 2009, an afterthought...
most popular!
5 minutes, 20 slides, 15 secs/slide
18 speakers in 3 hours
6 weeks submissions & review
professional a/v recording, live stream
global ignite week (50 cities, 10’000)
Monday, 8 March 2010
10. may 2009, month-long
12 events; 3x ‘tentpole’ events...
innovation north showcase
formal conference: carsonified’s future of web apps
crossover into arts, “digital britain” debate, photography
international attention...
Monday, 8 March 2010
11. TEDxLeeds
highly curated, edited
3x speakers: tech, entertainment & design
4x TED talk screenings
set in newly opened rose bowl (bleugh!)
part of 5 city tour
Monday, 8 March 2010
12. modelled on south-by-southwest
partnering with live at leeds, thought bubble
inaugural 2-day conference
live studio audience recording of apps & hats
Monday, 8 March 2010
13. what i’ve learned...
form advisory boards to get the best content & insight
use off-the-shelf or free tools to market, ticket & manage...
eventbrite, eventwax, expectnation, wordpress, facebook, twitter, uStream, openconferenceware
free, open & unmoderated formats are fun, but unpredictable...
...paid, curated & edited events are less exciting, but quality can be higher
small companies can be bigger sponsors than corporates
leeds has terrible conference venues & fussy caterers!
Monday, 8 March 2010
14. thank you :)
email imran@ali.name
twitter @imran
web www.imranali.name
Monday, 8 March 2010
